On Wed, 27 Jul 2016 13:21:28 -0700, "Snuffy \"Hub Cap\" McKinney"
wrote:

"Muggles" wrote in message ...
On 7/27/2016 11:20 AM, Snuffy "Hub Cap" McKinney wrote:
Let's hear some stories about what works. They only come inside when it get hot or when the yard is flooded for one reason or another.

I picked up a gallon of Home Defense $5 special to try out. Anything else work better?

I have heard ants won't cross diatomaceous earth sprinkled around the base. Is that true? The price is low.

Also heard to use grits, that ants will eat it and it expands and kills them. I don't want to try that thinking it might attract mice, etc.


We've used several things. Ant bait sprinkles where the ants take it
back to the colony and the entire colony gets poisoned. I've also used
Simple green and sprayed the area they are coming in from, the places I
see them, and I've sprayed their trails. It kills them on contact, and
interrupts the scent trail the ants follow.

--
Maggie

Thanks, I wonder if I put full strength simple green in one of those containers you connect to the hose and spray the yard how good that would do? I spray fruit trees with liquid dishwashing detergent that way and it does a good job with most pests.

I'll try the Home Defense and some powder since I have some already.

On the inside, Terro liquid works great for me. I squirt some near where they are coming in and they push and shove to get at it to eat. Then I replenish it and within a day or two, they are gone. I always wonder if it really does kill ants back in their nest. In fact, once I tried mixing some up boric acid in glycerin myself but the ants just ignored it.

Terro Classic is sugar based. If ants eat sugar, they will usually eat
Terro. You could make up some concentrated simple syrup (sugar and
water boiled down to a goo) with boric acid in it. Use about 12 parts
sugar and one part BA.
The problem with any bait is ants just stop eating whatever the "food"
is in the bait after you kill enough colonies.

Baits are the only thing I have ever been successful with but my ants
are getting to be such picky eaters that I can't really find anything
they eat. I am leaving stuff laying around, just daring them to find
something they like. Then I will have them ;-)